I’m desperate to run him. It’s got to the stage now where I’m starting to need to run him.

Evan Williams

Williams took last season’s Aintree fourth out of a planned outing at Exeter on Sunday because of the heavy ground.

“He’s also in the National Trial at Haydock but I wouldn’t be keen to run, but he will be declared at the five-day stage,” said Williams.

“He will also be entered at Ascot on Saturday in a race he was third in last year, a three-mile handicap.

“That’s where I would like to go, weather permitting.

“I’m desperate to run him. It’s got to the stage now where I’m starting to need to run him. He could do with a run.

“It would be nice if we could slot him in there somewhere.”

Testing ground also decided Williams to withdraw Court Minstrel from Saturday’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, but the trainer is not as worried about getting him back on to the track in a hurry.

“He’s absolutely fine. We want a bit of decent ground,” he said. “There are plenty of options and I’m not too worried about him because there are so many places he can go in the spring when the ground gets better. I wouldn’t run him on that ground so I worked instead on Saturday as I needed to work him because he didn’t run.

“There are no problems with him but I will not run him on that ground.

I don’t think he handled the testing ground in the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown when fourth to Melodic Rendezvous, (an impressive winner on Sunday). That form is looking very good, so I’m going to be patient.”